With the rapid growth in demand for touch screen devices, such as phones and computer tablets, there is also a growing need for hand protection that works with capacitive touch screen technology. Capacitive touchscreens are typically made from an insulator such as glass or acrylic coated with a transparent conductor, often ITO or indium tin oxide. Capacitive touchscreen devices work when a conductive object comes into contact with the screen and distorts the screen's electrostatic field, ultimately measuring a change in capacitance. Since the human body is a conductor, the conductive object that comes into contact with the screen may be a user's finger. There are various technologies to determine the location of the conductive contact. The location of the touch is then processed by the touch screen device and converted to some form of output that is then used by the device to initiate various functionality. It is known that, unlike resistive touchscreen devices, capacitive touchscreens cannot be used with standard gloves.
Workers in industrial manufacturing, including those that work in clean rooms, now require cut resistant hand protection. This hand protection is sometimes worn on its own or under a disposable glove. The industry is requesting enhanced forms of hand protection that also function with capacitive touch screen devices so that the hand protection does not need to be removed when working with electronic touchscreen devices.
A need exists for a glove that addresses the above issues.